Why Jared Goff 'pinches himself' over being Lions' QB

For the third consecutive year, expectations for the Detroit Lions, led by quarterback Jared Goff and head coach Dan Campbell, are high heading into the 2025 NFL season. 

During a recent chat with Sports Illustrated's Elizabeth Swinton, Goff shared some high praise for Campbell amid the Lions' preparations for their regular-season opener at the rival Green Bay Packers on Sunday. 

Dan Campbell has Jared Goff thinking he's dreaming

"Every day I kind of try to pinch myself how lucky I am to play for a coach like [Campbell] and have the teammates I have and all the other coaches as well and be able to lead a franchise in a city that is starving for a championship," Goff explained. "Being able to be the one to try to give that to them is so much fun."

Goff and Campbell have been inseparable since they joined the Lions following the 2020 season. Detroit went 3-13-1 during the 2021 campaign, but then began a turnaround, winning eight of 10 games after Halloween 2022. 

Since that time, the pair have guided the franchise to the 2023 NFC Championship Game, and more recently, the Lions went 15-2 in 2024 before injuries sank their Super Bowl dreams.  

What about Dan Campbell "is off the charts"

"He's such a great leader, and learning how he approaches different situations and watching him communicate with the guys, watching him lead me and teach me different things, it's really incredible," Goff added during his comments about Campbell. "He's very smart, but his emotional intelligence is off the charts and really, really fun to learn from a coach like that, and I'm very thankful for him."

In the spring of 2024, the club signed Goff to a four-year contract extension that included $170M guaranteed and could be worth up to $212M.

As of Friday morning, ESPN Bet had Detroit as a 1.5-point underdog against Green Bay at Lambeau Field. Meanwhile, DraftKings Sportsbook gave the Lions the sixth-best odds (+1400) to win Super Bowl LX in February.

In August, Goff said that he had "fun" working with new Lions offensive coordinator John Morton throughout the offseason. It will be interesting to see if the signal-caller feels the same on Sunday night.